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Chinese Folk Arts
Papercut
The
papercuts
of
Shanxi
feature
a
wide
variety
of
themes,
including
flowers, human figures, animals,
legends, folk tales all stoties
from
operatic works, and showing a bold and
unrestrained style,
simple and
unsophisticated presentation and strong local
characteristics. There are two types -
colored and monochrome.
Chinese papercut
Clay Figurines
The Huishan
clay figurines made in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province
emerged
in the Ming Dynasty and have a
history of over 400 years. Thanks
to
their unique art style, these colored figurines
have been well
received
by
the
Chinese
people
throughout
the
country
and
have
been
sold to
50 countries and regions. Masters of the art have
given
demonstrations
in
Japan, the U.
S.,
Australia
and
other
counthies.
Hence Huishan clay figurines display
the best color modeling art
in the
East.
A coloured sheep
Woodblock New Year Pictures
Yanghabu
Woodblock
New
Year
Pictures
Originated
in
the
Ming
Dynasty.
Yangjiabu is located near Weifang City
in Shandong Province. The
original
settlers, mostly with the family name Yang,
moved here from Zitong County in
Sichuan Province during Hongwu
reign
period of the Ming Dynasty. The woodblock pictures
used New
Year
decorations
have
mainly
Buddhist
themes,
while
the
horizontal
wall pictures are
based on woodblock illustrations.
Yangjiabu new year
pictures
Folding Fan
The folding fan is a folk handicraft
for use in cooling oneself in
summer,
and
is
also
used
as
a
decoration
or
a
stage
prop
in
traditional Chinese operas. Due to
their fine workmanship, the
folding
fans produced in Rongchang, Chongqing, are prized
both at
home and abroad. Since ancient
times, Rongchang folding fans have
been
sold
well
throughout
the
country,
as
well
as
to
India,
Myanmar
and other
countries.
Folding fan
Embroidery
Embroidery
is
traditional
Chinese
handicraft
art.
which
is
divided
into
the
SuZhou,
Sichuan,
Guangdong
and
Hunan
schools.
Suzhou
embroidery is
celebrated for its sophisticated stitching, vivid
pictures, beautiful patterns and
elegant colors. Human Embroidery
emphasizes
vivid
patterns.
Guangdong
and
Sichuan
embroideries
feature popular
motifs, such as a peacock spreading its tail, a
magpie on the branch of a plum tree,
pines and cranes as symbols
of long
life, two dragons playing with a ball, and a
phoenix and
Peony. The embroidery items
have varied themes: Some are romantic
and exaggerative, others reflect the
reality, or are vivid
and true to life.
Both are of practical and ornamental
uses.
Chinese embroidery
Yang Liuqing New Year Pictures
One of China's three famous folk New
Year picture styles, Yang
Liuqing New
Year Pictures originated in Yang Liuqing Town, in
the
westem
suburbs
of
Tianjin
City,
in
the
early
l7th
century.
Adopting
the
method
of
integrating
block
printing
and
hand-colored
decoration,
they
are
characterized
by
varied
themes
such,
as
brightness, vivacity, happiness,
auspiciousness and fascination.
The
pictures
by
the
young
people
in
Yang
Liuqing
have
enjoyed
ahigh
reputation in China.
Yangliuqing newyear
pictures
Farmer Calligraphy
and Paintings
Xukou
Town
in
Jiansu
Province
is
known
as
a
of
Chinese
Calligraphy
and
Paintings
Yushe
and
Yaoshe
villages
in
the
County
are
particularly
famous
for
their
output
of
calligraphy
and
painting.
Over five million calligraphy and
paintings have been produced in
the
County by more than 600 artists since 1956. In
1988 the
Calligraphy and
Painting Research Society of the Fragrant Hill of
Wuxian County
are renowned
for their unique style integrating a strong flavor
of
life with the fragrance of the soil.
Huangzhong County in Qinghai
Province
is
also
called
a
of
farmer
Calligraphy
and
Paintings
more
than 1, 000 art works, of
which some
have been displayed in the international and
national
exhibitions.
Their
paintings
are
characterized
by
a
simple,
vigorous natural and fresh style with
traditional folk features.
China Huxian peasant
pantings
Shadow Plays,
Puppets and Marionettes
Shadow plays
are a traditional folk art, the origin of which
can
be traced back to the Western Han
Dynasty (206 BC ~ 24 AD). With
puppets
made out of cow's leather or donkey hide, the
shadow
play figures of the Guanzhong
area of Shaanai Province are modeled
on
the stone relief pattems of the Han Dynasty, the
academic-style
painting
of
the
Song
Dynasty
and folk paper-cuts. Guanzhong
shadow
play figures are popular with
collectors and as home decorations.
Yangzhou's puppets are controlled by
three wooden sticks - one to
maulpulate
the ears, eyes, nose and mouth of the puppet, and
the
other two to manipulate the
puppet's hands. The music of the show
is
based
on
Beijing
and
local
operas.
The
Yangzhou
Puppet
ArtTroupe
has toured many
countries and regions in the world, such as Japan,
the
United
States,
Australia,
Russia,
France,
Italy,
Holland,
Taiwan and Hong Kong and has been well
received by the audiences.
Quanzhou
City
in
Fujian
Province
is
noted
for
its
marionettes.
Four
puppeteers manipulate the figures, each
of which can have up to 30
strings. Two
international puppet festivals were held in
Quanzhou in l986 and l990,
respectively, in which over 300 artists
from
all
over
the
world
participated,
including
those
from
Britain,
Germany, Austria,
Italy, Spain, Holland, Japan and the
Philippines.
Quanzhou
also
hosted
the
International
Puppet
Festival
February
2002.
Chinese
leather shadow play puppet
Stone Carvings of Hui'an
The
stone carvings of the Hui'an area of Fujian
Province have a